Detail Course Information

Registration for this term is over. Changes or corrections to registration now by petition only. Students should contact their academic advisor.

Classes have begun. Approval of the instructor is now required for registration.

Prerequisites/Notes:
Sophomore standing

Catalog Description :
This course will enable non-music majors to engage with the discipline of music history. May be repeated when topic is different. Does not satisfy course requirements for any music major.

Topic for Fall 2013: Popular Music, 1954-1979 -- The Rise of Rock-and-RollGrowing out of the need for the young generation to have a voice separate from the influence of their parents, Rock-and-Roll will be studied from its genesis in the mid-50s, combining influences from R&B, Country, and Pop, through the variety of sub-genres in the 60s to the punk and disco movements in the 70s that attempted to return R/R to its simpler origins and functions. Movers and shakers who shaped the growth and acceptance of R/R as a popular artistic culture as well as the multitude of social, political, and racial challenges that influenced popular music will be the basis of discussions in class.

Topic for Winter 2014: The Beatles -- Four Lads Who Shook the WorldA survey of The Beatles' career from their formation and early development, rise to superstardom, and influence in popular music in the 1960s, to their subsequent adoration as cultural icons. Discussions will center on presentations of audio and video clips, and simple analyses of music and lyrics relating socio-cultural, political, and other extra-musical factors to popular music.

Topic for Spring 2014: Music and Gender
This course will explore the relationship between music and gender in the Western world from the Middle Ages to the present. Considering classical and popular music, including music videos and film, as well as writings about gender and music, we will explore music's role as a reflection of, reaction to, and active participant in gender construction.